Set in a Vietnam-era New Jersey suburb, high school student Douglas (John Magaro) and his friends decide to form a band, inspired by the rise of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Despite the grumblings of his working class father (James Gandolfini), Douglas is certain that stardom is in his future, especially when a freak accident shifts him from drummer and backup singer to becoming the group's front man. But infighting, domestic problems, and the realities of the world interfere, and soon they threaten to not only derail Doublas' musical journey, but his relationship with the love of his life (Bella Heathcoate).
Chase definitely has a healthy appreciation for the musical arts, and puts it on full showing any chance he gets here. He definitely realizes and explores the music discoveries that made that period of time so great, from The Beatles' appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show to the Stones showing off for Dean Martin. It's not just rock that gets attention, but also R&B legends like Bo Diddley, James Brown and Elmore James who get praised as inspirations. The band themselves, dubbed the "Twylight Zones" (after Doug's favorite television show), also put on performances of sorts, with excellent cover and original songs dotting the film's playlist. It helps that the soundtrack is cobbled together by legendary musician and Chase collaborator Steven Van Zandt, who does a great job matching the music to the mood the director is trying to achieve, and the result is easily one of the best soundtracks I've heard this year.
For almost two hours, we're subjected to characters we don't care about going through motions and time jumps and off-screen events that trigger real-time consequences. The narrative could have been forgiven if the final product were not such a jumbled mess, but as things stand you'll barely be able to keep people and situations straight and people's looks swiftly altering in short spurts of time. The music covers up any connections that scenes may share, and while it's nice to listen to, I'd appreciate if it weren't used as a crutch. There are only a few actual "character moments", the most effective being a dinner chat between Douglas and his estranged father. Unfortunately, the scene only barely scratches any deeper meaning behind the characters, and any momentum it develops is quickly and utterly lost.
David Chase has often complained that he's stuck working in television, unable to transcend to the hallowed grounds of moviemaking. But if the films he's going to produce are anything like Not Fade Away - self-important, semi-biographical and thoroughly un-entertaining - then HBO was doing society a favor for all those years. Van Zandt's soundtrack is exemplary, and anybody wishing to relive the music of the sixties will probably find something to keep them going. But the fact is that those people already own these songs on CD or digital (and likely a few on vinyl), rendering the idea of paying for a ticket to see this moot. This isn't the film you are looking for, and if it is you might just be searching the wrong medium for your good times.
Hello Mr. Anderson,
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The white rabbit
My faverite part of the movie, other than this review, was Bella Heathcoate, what a babe. How come you never review porn movies?
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